Explosions outside France synagogue were a terrorist attack, prosecutors say

Two vehicles parked outside a synagogue exploded in a French town Saturday in what prosecutors called an act of terrorism.

The cars exploded outside the Ben Yacoov synagogue in La Grande Motte, a resort town on the southern coast of France. The synagogue’s doors were also set on fire, prosecutors said in a statement.

Prosecutors are treating the attack as an attempted assassination by a terrorist organisation intended to cause harm and destroy property, according to a statement from the anti-terrorism unit in the prosecutor’s office.

Gérald Darmanin, the French interior minister, announced on social media later Saturday that a suspect had been arrested in the case but did not provide further details.

Five people, including the rabbi, were inside the synagogue at the time of the attack, around 8 am, as worshippers would have been making their way there.

No one was killed, but one police officer responding to the explosions was hurt when a gas bottle inside one of the vehicles exploded, the anti-terrorism unit said in its statement.

The attack is likely to heighten fears of growing antisemitism in France, which has the largest Jewish population in Western Europe. The government said it had recorded more than 360 antisemitic episodes in the first three months of 2024 as the Israel-Hamas war has further heightened tensions.

President Emmanuel Macron vowed that the perpetrators would be tracked down, and that Jewish places of worship in France would be protected.

“The fight against antisemitism is a constant battle,” Macron said, adding that it was a fight for “a united nation.”

Officials in the municipality of Herault, which includes La Grande Motte, said the city would be vigilant in protecting buildings associated with its Jewish community.

The municipality also canceled a demonstration planned for Saturday in nearby Montpellier by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which seeks to mobilize economic and political pressure on Israel over its treatment of Palestinians.